A lot of people are coping with the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic by picking up a guitar for the first time.
Fender CEO Andy Mooney told The New York Times that 2020 “will be the biggest year of sales volume in Fender history, with record days of double-digit growth, e-commerce sales and beginner gear sales.”
James “JC” Curleigh, CEO of Gibson, said the company has struggled to meet demand. “Everything we were making, we could sell,” he said. And Taylor co-founder Kurt Listug said his company had the biggest June in its history.
The instructional app Fender Play grew from 150,000 users in March to 930,000 by late June.
According to the Times, the guitar boom is being fuelled by teenagers and young adults, including many females.